Monthly Archives: January 2014

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I was invited to a cookie exchange with some friends and I, of course, had to find a new, exciting cookie recipe to try! Since I LOVE peppermint hot chocolate, I decided upon Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies that I found at Mom Endeavor’s website.

To make the cookies you will need…
2 sticks but­ter at room temperature (or if you forget to leave it out, like me, pop it in the microwave for 25-30 seconds to soften it)
1 C sugar
2/3 C brown sugar
2 1/4 C flour
3/4 C cocoa pow­der or hot choco­late mix (I used dark chocolate cocoa)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp bak­ing soda
1 C pep­per­mint crunch bak­ing chips (I couldn’t find these so I used cut up Andes Mints. Not quite peppermint, but it still gave a great minty flavor!)
1/2 C semi-sweet or dark choco­late chips (I used semi-sweet because it’s what I had, but I think they would have been even better with dark chocolate!)
approx. 2 C mini marshmallows

3. In a large mixer bowl, mix together the butter & sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and then mix until everything is combined.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix until just combined.

5. Stir in ­mint & chocolate chips.

6. Form dough balls (I used my cookie scoop that I LOVE!) and place about 2″ apart onto parch­ment lined bak­ing sheets.

7. Bake for 10–12 min­utes. *At about the 8 minute mark, pull out the cook­ies and top with mini marshmal­lows (I did 4 per cookie). I lightly pushed them into the cookie before returning the cookies to the oven for the last few minutes. The marsh­mal­lows should get nice & puffy, but not too gooey. I watched for them to have a bit of a golden color on top, then pulled them out.

At first, I wasn’t so sure about the cookies and thought they were just ok. Then, the more that I ate them, the more I liked them! The combination of the mint with the chocolate, then a bit of the marshmallow gooey-ness on top was a winner!!

Of all the Christmas cookies I made this year, these cookies were, by far, my favorite. Not really sure why- they really aren’t super different than a chocolate chip cookie, but something about the graham cracker on the bottom makes them a step or two above your average chocolate chip cookie.

4.) On a lined baking sheet, place halves of graham crackers about an inch apart.

5.) Place a ball/scoop of dough in the center of each graham cracker.

6.) Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and wait for the magic to happen! I took the advice from Couponing and Cooking and I didn’t bake them any longer than 10 minutes- they were perfect!

I found that even after a week, these cookies were still delicious. It might sound weird, but they were almost even better after a few days because the Graham Crackers softened and it was just the right texture and taste with the chocolate, marshmallow, cookie goodness!

It’s been forever since I’ve blogged…but with good reason! My baby girl arrived October 2nd, and I’ve been so focused on her, I’ve had a hard time giving up time to do anything else! However, I did find some time to make tons of Christmas cookies, all of which I’m going to try to blog about! First up, Turtle Cookies!

2. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined.

3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. I left it in for about 2 hours and found that I really needed the heat from my hands to make the dough more pliable.

4. Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy (I used my hand mixer which made this SO much easier). Place chopped pecans in another bowl. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, and then roll in pecans. Place balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. Be careful when making the indentations, though. The spoon I used stuck every time. It might help to put a little butter or oil on the outside before making the indentations.

5. Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 12 minutes.

Prepare the Caramel Filling:
6. Microwave caramels and cream together in a small bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Once cookies are removed from the oven, gently re-press the indentations. Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel mixture. Cool on the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

The Kitchen is My Playground’s recipe also has an option for a chocolate drizzle, but I skipped that part!

I have to say I had extremely high expectations for these cookies, but they kind of fell flat. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, I just expected a lot more!

One plus- I used the leftover caramels to make dark chocolate covered caramels…my favorite!